


Dare You to Date

by obiwankenboneme



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dare, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 02:04:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6451141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obiwankenboneme/pseuds/obiwankenboneme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin is dared to date the reader, someone he normally wouldn't. They're shy, nice, and considerate. Anakin is doing it just to prove he can get anyone, but like it always goes, he falls for the reader. Telling them what he's done...that never works out as well as you'd think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dare You to Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is most likely going to turn into a multi-chapter piece because I cannot let Anakin just get away with something like this. Thanks to my lovely betas again, and I hope you cubs enjoy this!

“I dare you to ask out Y/N,” Rex taunts, popping a fry into his mouth and smirking at Anakin across the table.

They’re all enjoying the first sunny day in weeks, and what had started as a simple game of truth or dare was escalating quickly. Padmé, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan opted out some fifteen minutes ago, so now it was only Rex, Anakin, and a handful of other college students who were having fun. Anakin snorts, eyes darting around the quad and landing on you. You’re sitting alone, reading a book and mouthing the lines to yourself, lost in your own world.

“That’s not much of a dare, Rex. You’re losing your touch.”

Rex holds up a finger, swallowing the mouthful of burger he just took. “No, I wasn’t finished. I dare you to ask out Y/N and then date them for three months. You’re the self-proclaimed people’s man, so if you can make them fall in love with you within those three months, you win, and I will owe you a year’s worth of doing your schoolwork for you. If you lose though, you have to do mine for a year.”

_That will be hell. Rex takes all upper level courses._

Anakin mulls over the option, glancing at his three friends who all look more than uncomfortable. Ahsoka and Pads are whispering to each other, glancing at you on occasion, their faces portraying the fear that they’re feeling. As Anakin’s gaze lands on Obi-Wan, he sees that his friend’s jaw is tense, and Obi stands quickly, shoving his hair back against the table and storming off.

Anakin knows Obi doesn’t harbor feelings for you, but he understands why his friends are acting this way. It’s wrong and manipulative, even for him. The lure of not having to do a year’s worth of his own homework though…it’s too promising to pass up. Turning his attention back to Rex, he holds out his hand.

“Deal.”

Pads and Ahsoka get up and leave as soon as he says that, and he feels his heart plummet into his stomach. If he fucks this up, he’s going to lose a lot more than just the bet. Rex smirks, shaking Anakin’s hand and waving towards you.

“Well, go on then. Make your move, pretty boy.”

Anakin glances towards you, standing and making his way over to your table. You look up from your book when he sits down, your heart starts hammering a different beat than before. Anakin Skywalker is one of the hottest guys on campus, but he’s also a straight up douchebag. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a crush on him, right? Just ‘cause someone is a douche doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of affection. Inhaling, his mouth twists into a smirk.

“Hey Y/N, I was just wondering if you’d want to go out with me. Ya know, on a date and stuff,” he says, leaning back in the chair he’s sitting in.

Your eyes widen, fingers shaking as you snap your book closed. _This could just be some trick. But if it’s not…I’ll miss an opportunity of a lifetime._ Swallowing, you nod your head slowly, watching his eyes light up with excitement. His hands move quickly, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling something down as he stands and starts towards his own table.

“Call me and we’ll set it up!”

You look down at the scrawl of numbers on the sheet, your fingers shaking even harder. Closing your eyes, you reassure yourself that it was going to be okay, before standing and taking it with you. Anakin couldn’t be that bad…right?

* * *

 

It’s reaching the three month mark of yours and Anakin’s relationship, and honestly, you couldn’t be happier. He’s the sweetest boyfriend you’ve had since high school, and he respected you more than anyone had in a long time. Now, as you press up against his side and let your head rest on his shoulder, you notice how tense he is, and you frown.

Pausing the movie, you turn to him. Anakin’s face is a mix of something between pain and sorrow, and you reach for his hand. When he pulls away from your touch, you frown even more, not sure why he’s acting like this.

“Ani, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Do you want to stop watching the movie? I’d understand if you need to go back to your dorm and get some rest,” you questioned, reaching your hand out again to touch his forehead and check for a fever.

Anakin is on his feet before you make it even halfway to him, his hands forming fists as he stands there in front of you. Now you’re even more confused, and you start to wonder if maybe you missed something. Is he angry because of something that happened in school? Are you being a neglectful partner?

Rearranging yourself on the couch so you can face him, you sigh. “Anakin, please tell me what’s wrong. I’m confused. Did I do something?”

Anakin stands there, taking deep breaths and thinking over what he has to do. Rex had been on his ass for the last week and a half about how he has to break it off with you or he loses the bet. It’s impossible though, because despite everything Anakin told himself before getting into this, he’s fallen in love with you. Hopelessly in love with you, to the point where being separated from you hurt him more than the idea that he did all of this because of a dare.

Taking a deeper breath, he sits down and closes his eyes tightly. He doesn’t let you touch him, moving away so that all you can do is stare at him as he collects his thoughts. What he’s planning on saying is going to ruin everything you two have built up in three months, but he has to. No matter the outcome, he can’t keep it from you any longer. You deserve more than that.

“I’ve been dating you on a dare.”

The words slice through the silence and shatter your heart. Time seems to slow, and your heart stops. Anakin starts to panic when you stop breathing. His hands flutter around, trying to figure out what to do, but he can’t lay a hand on you. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because you do two things in quick succession that make it impossible.

First, you punch him. You punch him as hard as you possibly can in the face, all the rage and pain and sadness morphing into the only thing you know how to do properly. Secondly, you stand up and put yourself as far away from him as possible. Standing on the opposite side of the living room of your dorm, back to the wall, you sink to the floor, arms wrapping around yourself as you start to sob.

In three months, you had fallen in love with Anakin. In three months, you gave him everything that he ever could have wanted from you. After three months, you found out that the future you have been planning is a sham, and it’s been torn apart. After three months, you’ve finally come to learn the true meaning of hate. Sobbing harder, you pull your legs to your chest, burying your face in your arms and shaking so hard, it’s painful.

Your insides are twisting, filling with something ugly and painful, something you’ve never felt before. Anakin hasn’t moved from the couch, his nose bleeding profusely into his hands. He doesn’t say anything, and you know there isn’t anything else for him _to_ say. All the cards are on the table, and you’ve lost the game. You’ve lost even though you thought you were winning. You heard the floor creak, but Anakin doesn’t move over to you. Instead, he heads to the door, his shoes squeaking against the hardwood floor as he cradles his nose in his bloody hands.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I-“

“No. You’ll never be sorry for what you did. Not really. Get out. Get out and don’t _ever_ talk to me again,” you snarl, eyes red rimmed and dripping with tears when you look up at him. Anakin feels his heart drop straight past his stomach, through his feet and into the Earth, but he nods, opening the door and leaving without another word.

Of all the things he could hear last from you, it’s your scream and broken sobs that he’s left with, and it makes him hate himself. He knows his nose is broken, but he doesn’t feel like he deserves the hospital. Snapping his nose back into place, he allows himself the chance to cry as he heads back to his dorm; bloody and just as broken as you.

* * *

Spring fades to summer, and then summer turns to fall without any words shared between the two of you. You’re more than disgusted when you find out that he’s rooming next door to you in the same dorm, and you spend a few days contemplating whether or not to move. You love your dorm though, and you love your roommates, so the idea is quickly dropped.

What makes it even worse is that Anakin and you have classes at the same time. Finding this out is like having fate playing some cruel joke on you, but you soldier on. If this meant you had to see him in the elevator every day, so be it. You’ve survived through far worse things.

It’s nearing the end of the semester when the dam finally breaks. The music in Anakin’s dorm is so loud, you’re finding it impossible to work on your studies. Slamming your textbook shut, you stand and grab your keys, storming out and turning to get to his door. You pound your first against it for five minutes before it swings open, and you narrowly miss thrusting your fist into Obi-Wan’s tired face. His eyes meet yours, and he sighs out in frustration.

“You can’t study either?” You shake your head, stepping inside when Obi moves out of the way. The entire dorm is shaking with the vibrations of the music, and you pat Obi’s back as you move towards Anakin’s room.

His door is shut tight, music flooding out of every crack and crevice. How no one else is here to complain is beyond you, but you don’t have time for this. You have to get back to studying or you’re going to fail your exam. Anakin’s face comes into view by the second knock, his music cut off and feet scrambling on the floorboards. Staring at you, he opens his mouth to say something, but you beat him to it.

“Turn off your your damn music, or shut it off entirely. I don’t have time for this, and neither do your goddamn roommates, so _figure it out_.”

You don’t wait for his response, turning on your heel and starting towards the door. Obi had retreated back to his room, so it’s just you and Anakin at this point. Just as your hand grabs the handle, you’re spun around, and lips are pressing against yours as hands cup your face. Salty tears mix with the taste of his alcohol soaked tongue, and you have to push him back harder than you thought.

Anakin stumbles, knocking into one of the chairs and falling onto his ass. Sliding across the floor for a minute, he stops moving, eyes staring blankly at the ground at your feet. Even as the chair falls on top of him, he doesn’t shift, and you feel this… _need_ to do something. Righting the chair, you squat in front of him, hand moving to tap his cheek. At the same time that you raise your hand, he flinches, eyes closing as his own fingers raise to cover his nose.

Swallowing thickly, you look at your hand and remember the last time you had touched him. How you had hit him so hard, you’d broken his nose. You can still feel the bone giving way, and hear the crack that came when knuckles connected with nose. Closing your eyes, you let your hand drop back to your side, sinking to your knees.

“We’re awful people,” you whisper, hands shaking with the effort it takes not to cry.

Anakin nods his head, eyes still closed. His arms fall back to his sides, and the two of you just sit there in silence, letting it suffocate you both. A soft touch on your hand makes you glance up, seeing Anakin’s fingers just barely touching your own. He isn’t looking at you, but you know he’s testing the waters, his heart most likely fluttering in his chest.

“Why did you do it?”

His head turns towards you at that, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Do what?”

“Why did you date me as a dare? Why did you tell me _then_?” Your words are garbled, like you’re speaking them through the ocean, and he has to take a minute to register what you’ve said before answering.

His tongue pokes out to lick at his dried lips, breath slightly choked off as he draws it in. “I…I didn’t think that it was going to get that far. I thought we would break up before the three month mark, or that you might find out the truth sooner and it would all be for nothing. I dated you as a dare because I thought I could get anyone to fall in love with me and I wouldn’t feel a thing…but I was wrong. I told you that day because I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.

“Rex was breathing down my neck to break it off, and I felt like such _shit_ for doing any of this to you. It wouldn’t have mattered when I actually told you, because it never would have made up for what I did. I screwed over an amazing person, and all I got out of it was the credit to say I did it.”

His head hangs down, eyes closing as he cries as hard as you had the night he broke it off. The pain in your chest doesn’t dull, but it lessens, feeling a bit of sympathy for him. Anakin’s words roll around in your head, and you tap his shoulder once. When he finally looks at you, you bite your lip.

“You said that you thought you could get anyone to fall in love with you and not feel anything. Well, I fell in love with you. I fell so hard that when you told me the truth, it was like the world broke under my feet and I fell into space, with nothing to keep me grounded. Have you ever felt that? Did you…did you ever feel anything?” you whisper, fingers touching his softly.

Anakin inhales shakily, propping his head back on the cabinet behind him. “It was worse. It felt like everything they always wrote about. It was like I was drowning and you were oxygen; like I was starving and you were food; like I was drifting into space and you were the only thing keeping me tied down. All the things people spoke about feeling when they fall in love hit me at once, and I hated myself for it. I knew what would happen and I still let us get close. Let us…get so involved that we became each other’s anchors.”

He flips his hand over so he can lace your fingers together, his eyes still on the ceiling. “I love you just as much as I did then. Every day, the pain of not being with you hurts worse than anything else I’ve ever had to go through. I feel like…like I can’t breathe when you’re not here.”

You gaze at him, taking in his tear-stained face. The way his eyes are so tired looking, dragged down by bags that make you think he hasn’t slept in weeks. Every part of him screams exhaustion, and you don’t know what to do. Shifting closer, you lay your head on his shoulder, basking in the silence. Keeping your hands interlocked, you think that, maybe…just maybe, if this can be fixed, everything would be alright again. Maybe then your hearts wouldn’t feel so torn.


End file.
